The 2025/2026 school year promises to be eventful for the  French padel circuit . Between the new regulations and the reorganization of the P1000, several players of the  French Top 200  are wondering about the future of this competition which, until now, had found a balance.

A regulatory change that raises questions

Since this season, the  FFT  no longer manages the P1000 schedule. This role now falls to the  regional leagues , with quotas set according to the number of licensees. Problem: this decentralization risks multiplying overlaps. “And that is the problem: thus, from September 5 to 7, no less than  four P1000s  will take place simultaneously in mainland France,” we are told.

For  Damien Jean , club manager  The Apple Orchard in Caen , this development is not without consequences:

"For some time now, we have seen the quality of the P1000s being less endowed with good players, even if the top of the basket always remains interesting to follow and to watch."

Players' alert

 Thomas Cazes Carrère , used to P1000 and current  65th French player , alerts on the risk of a weakening of this category:

"Aren't we killing off the P1000 tournaments that had found their cruising speed after a period of uncertainty?"

He also insists on the method of distributing points:

"With the change in the organization of the P1000, should we continue to distribute points based on the number of teams or the weight of the bracket? For me, this is a mistake. Some P1000s may be very tough with few teams. We should distribute points based on the weight of the eight seeds."

With the proliferation of tournaments, it is indeed becoming easier to enter a main draw, and even to aim for a victory. Players accustomed to the semi-finals could now secure titles, due to a  leveling of the average level .

P1000: towards a two-speed category?

The P1500, a new horizon

The  P1500  already illustrates this shift. The recent tournament of  Tops of Nîmes  showed that the tables are now attracting some of the players who were the strength of the P1000s yesterday.

For Damien Jean, this trend is worrying:

"We had already lost density in recent years. We will have to expect to see the average level of the elite categories drop further with this type of regulation."

Increased competition despite everything

The circuit, however, remains constantly evolving. New pairs regularly emerge and join the fray, ensuring a quality spectacle in the final rounds.

But the risk remains: France could soon experience  P1000 two-speed , according to the formula of Thomas Cazes Carrère.

"We must hope that  the leagues communicate with each other  to avoid ending up with four P1000s on the same weekend. Even if they are geographically distributed, this will unbalance the tables and weaken the category."

Indeed, if players and clubs had the assurance that, for example, they could not exceed more than 2 P1000 per week and that the leagues would be rigorous enough to force themselves to preserve the value of the P1000, then the fears would be unfounded.

With  18 tournaments played over the last twelve months , Cazes Carrère is one of the active players on the circuit. Many believe that the P1000s had found a good cruising speed and that he “is  It's a shame to see this category so disrupted. , while there were undoubtedly other priorities than  destabilise a format that worked well and was appreciated by competitors, clubs and spectators ".

 Case to follow. 

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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